


sticky-sweet

by kairosclerosiis



Category: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
Genre: Bittersweet, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Love, M/M, Poetic, Poetry, Soulmates, Trojan War, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-24 15:16:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19175968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kairosclerosiis/pseuds/kairosclerosiis
Summary: You once swore that I’d be the first hero who was happy. I’m not, I was never going to be. I know this now but by the gods, with you by my side, how wewere.





	sticky-sweet

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Thirteen Letters](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2689091) by [dropdeaddream](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dropdeaddream/pseuds/dropdeaddream), [WhatAreFears](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatAreFears/pseuds/WhatAreFears). 



( _How long have I loved you for?_ )  
We meet under a fig tree, the golden child and the orphan boy. You see _me_ , not the _Aristos Achaion_ , not the demigod, not the prince. You _see me_ , and I am floored. I pick you the tenderest of fruit and you thank me with a smile, fingers sticky-sweet. 

( _How long have I loved you for?_ )  
Thetis cannot see us on Chrion’s mountain. I hear your warm laughter on the breeze and I know this at once- nothing will ever compare.

( _How long have I loved you for?_ )  
Heracles, Jason, Bellerophon- I will be the first hero to be happy. I make you swear it and in that moment, your smile pressed against my side, I feel as though I could eat the world raw. 

( _How long have I loved you for?_ )  
You come with me to Troy. You have always followed me selflessly and I have always been too selfish to leave you behind. 

( _How long have I loved you for?_ )  
You fight to save the Myrmidons from the Trojans, you say, but perhaps you fight to save me from myself, too. Dressed in my armour, smiling as sweetly as on the day we met, I see no evidence that you’ve been waging someone else’s war for ten long years. _Philtatos_ , I think, and I feel my heart clench painfully.

( _How long have I loved you for?_ )  
Hector releases a spear. Two hearts hit the floor- one mine, both yours.

( _How long have I loved you for?_ )  
“What has Hector ever done to me?” I once asked, but now I know. Dead men cannot smile. He has stolen half of my soul. 

( _How long have I loved you for?_ )  
You once swore that I’d be the first hero who was happy. I’m not, I was never going to be. I know this now but by the gods, with you by my side, how we _were_.

( _How long have I loved you for?_ )  
I may have godly blood running through my veins, but you were always the best of us, divine. I think of your smile as I fulfil the prophecy. 

( _How long have I loved you for?_ )  
Womb to tomb, philtatos. Since before I was born and until my dying day- may the gods have mercy on my immortal soul- for I intend to fight my way back to your side after, too.

**Author's Note:**

> There are a few people whose lines I used in this poem- Thirteen Letter's "Womb to tomb" repurposed, "Two hearts hit the floor" from a poem I read by Georgia Marginson-Swart and last but not least, several direct quotes from SoA itself.
> 
> I hope I credited correctly, please let me know if you have any concerns! If you are the author of anything I used and want me to take it down, I understand and can do that too.
> 
> No beta! I edit and re-edit this piece often, as I learn. I own nothing. I just like writing things sometimes.
> 
> (There is a tiny pattern, can you spot it? Comments and criticism are appreciated!)


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